Sometime dinner just needs to be fun and different. We don’t have to be grown up allllll the time, right? This recipe for Spicy Mac & Cheese Pizza is just that – a lot of fun and makes you feel like a kid a bit. The added kick of the jalapenos is just enough to keep you on your toes. And if needs be…only put them on one of the pizzas, so the kids can have the other one.
I’ve included my own recipe for pizza dough at the bottom. You can use it or you can use whatever your favorite pizza dough is (if it’s store bought, use the directions from the packaging). I am also working on finessing my Sourdough discard Pizza dough recipe, and I will be sharing that one soon. The key is to pick a dough that will be somewhere between thin crust and regular. With the account of carbs you get from the mac and cheese, you don’t need to double down with some deep dish.
The bacon goes so well with the jalapeno, so I that’s why I use it for this version. You can definitely go with diced ham, or even pepperoni or sausage. I also like to bake my bacon for this particular recipe, but you can pan fry or prepare it however your prefer. If you want to bake your bacon – you will need a baking sheet with a baking rack set. This helps to prevent the bacon from curling up and helps it to cook evenly. I even recently learned that I can just get a tub of cooked bacon bits from my grocery deli – and it costs about the same per pound as buying it uncooked.
As I mentioned above, this is a very carb heavy meal, so you probably want to even that out some with a nice green salad on the side. I will say that this pizza can be reheated (5 minutes in a 425degF oven) but it’s not as good as it is the first time around. Just like any time you reheat mac and cheese – it gets a little dried out and the cheese does that thing when it’s been remelted too many times. It’s quite good cold, to be honest.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Spicy Mac & Cheese Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 Pizza Dough refrigerated or see recipe below
- 1 Jalapeno sliced
- ½ lb Bacon
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
For the Mac & Cheese
- 1 lb Small Pasta shells or elbows
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 2 cups Milk
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp White Pepper
- 1 tsp Ground Mustard
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 3 cups Cheddar Cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425degF. Start water boiling for pasta.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay out slices of bacon in a single layer. Cover with a baking rack (this prevents curling). Back for 20 minutes. Remove bacon to paper towel covered cutting board, bloat excess grease. Then chop to bacon bit sized pieces.
- Spread out pizza dough (one recipe on each of two parchment paper covered baking sheets). Bake for 10 minutes and then remove from oven. (It will not be cooked through but will have a crust developed).
- Add pasta to boiling water. Cook as directed on package. Drain in colander, rinse with cool water and return to pot (away from heat).
- In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add butter, onion powder, and garlic powder. Once melted whisk in flour and let cook for 3 minutes. Whisk milk, ground mustard, salt, pepper and paprika. Let cook another 2 minutes before whisking in heavy cream. Once incorporated and thickened, add cheese – stirring regularly to fully melt and combine.
- Add cheese sauce to cooked pasta and toss to coat.
- Spread half of mac & cheese on each par-cooked pizza crust. Sprinkle each with half of bacon, half of the jalapeno slices and half of additional cheese. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes more. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing to serve.
Thin Crust Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Yeast instant
- ⅓ cup Oil
- 1½ cup Warm Water
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Salt
- 4½ cups Flour
Instructions
- Prepare all of the ingredients
- In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and oil. Let sit to activate for about 10 minutes. Yeast should become foamy.
- Add flour to activated yeast mixture. Stir together until a sticky dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof for about an hour (until dough has doubled in size)
- Preheat oven to 425degF.
- Once risen, split into two equal halves. Add one half of dough to floured surface and use a rolling pin to press out into ¼-in thick in the shape of the baking sheet. Move to parchment paper covered baking sheet. Spray with cooking oil.
- Bake for 8 minutes.
- Continue to pizza recipe directions.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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Oh yes, this is a perfect dish for me and my family – thanks for sharing @ #Alittlebitofeverything